BOISE, Idaho  Single biggest key to an Aztec win against No. 19 Boise State on Saturday night?

Don’t. Do. What. You. Did. Last. Year.

When the Broncos visited Qualcomm Stadium in 2011, San Diego State shot itself in the foot early by turning the ball over three times in its first four possessions.

An interception, a fumbled punt and a fumbled kickoff later, and the Aztecs found themselves in 21-0 hole.

You can’t do that against a ranked team and expect to win.

With that in mind, even last week’s win against UNLV was something of a miracle. The Aztecs fumbled twice and threw one pick, yet prevailed anyway.

“It’s a rarity when you lose the turnover battle and still win,” said SDSU running backs coach Jeff Horton. “In order to win on Saturday, we have to have zero turnovers.”

The players are emphasizing that too. Ball security was a priority at Aztec headquarters this week as SDSU got ready to head up to Bronco Stadium.

“We preach that all around,” said quarterback Adam Dingwell, who threw his first career interception last week. “I didn’t do well enough at that. So that’s just the main thing I’m going to concentrate on this week, and some footwork things.”

Running back Adam Muema, who fumbled twice last week, is zoned in on that too.

His catch phrases this week were “focus on high and tight” and “think ‘ball.’”

Defensively, the Aztecs are on high alert for the Broncos’ trick plays. Boise State hasn’t really dipped into its bag of tricks this year, but the propensity is still there, and a deterrent in itself.

Remember the hook-and-ladder and Statue of Liberty against Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl?

The good thing is that trick plays aren’t quite as effective if your opposition now knows to look out for them.

“It’s kind of good that we know they like to do that kind of thing. You’ve always got to keep (Boise State’s trick plays) in the back of your mind,” said SDSU cornerback Josh Wade. “And if you know it’s coming, it could be a little better.

“So we should be able to have good eyes and make our reads and know that something’s going to come at us eventually during the course of the game through their tendencies.”

But as a team, the Aztecs are trying to stay levelheaded and not focus on the fact that this game against Boise State (7-1 overall, 4-0 Mountain West) could either boost or end their shot at winning the Mountain West Championship.

The Broncos lead the Mountain West, while the Aztecs (6-3, 4-1) are caught in a three-way tie for second place with Fresno State and Air Force. Because they’ve already lost to Fresno State, the Aztecs need to beat Boise and take care of business against Air Force and Wyoming to stay in the title hunt.

“To get a chance to win the championship, we’ve got to win the rest out so,” said junior safety Marcus Andrews. “So we’re not looking at it like this is the championship game.

“Every game from here on out we’ve got to win if we want to think about the championship.”

Still, as coach Rocky Long said this week, it’s imperative that the Aztecs peak on Saturday and play their best football of the season.

“I don’t think we’ve played our best yet, and we’d better this week. If we don’t play our best this week, it could be embarrassing,” Long said.